Not every documentary needs to justify its impact. But some films enter history at precisely the moment when courts, governments, and societies, despite the work of truth and reconciliation commissions, have failed or refused to reckon with the past. In many places, documentary has reached into the silences left by legal processes: into families, generational inheritance, the gap between what a country officially remembers and what its survivors know to be true, and the descendants of perpetrators would rather forget. This conversation brings together filmmakers whose work has become part of the transitional justice movements their films document, and even inspired global activist movements advocating for accountability. How much can cinema really help break pacts of silence, support legal campaigns, and work toward peace and reconciliation that persist long after a film's release?
Moderator: Leonard Cortana
Panelists: Lisette Orozco (Adriana's Pact, Colectivo de Historias Desobedientes), Almudena Carracedo (The Silence of Others), and Kumjana Novakova (Silence of Reason)
Biographies:
Almudena Carracedo is Peabody, duPont-Columbia, Goya and three-time Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on justice and memory. Her latest film, “You Are Not Alone”, tells the story of Spain’s #MeToo movement. Created with Robert Bahar, it was a global success on Netflix, won a duPont-Columbia Award, and was nominated for a Goya (Spain’s Academy Award) and a BAFTA (TV). Their previous film, “The Silence of Others”, which explores the legacy of Franco-era crimes in Spain, won a Goya, Peabody, two Emmys, Berlinale Panorama Audience Award, Sheffield Grand Jury Prize, and was shortlisted for an Oscar. Her debut feature, “Made in L.A.”, following the struggle of immigrant women workers, won an Emmy. For six years, she served on CIMA’s board (Spain’s women filmmakers association). She is a Guggenheim Fellow, US Artists Fellow, Creative Capital Fellow and a member of the European Film Academy, Spanish Film Academy and AMPAS.
Lissette Orozco is a film director and screenwriter. She holds a Master’s degree in Documentary Filmmaking and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Pompeu Fabra University. A human rights researcher and activist, she is a member of Historias Desobedientes (Descendants of Perpetrators for Memory, Truth, and Justice) and has taught at universities across Latin America. Her documentary El pacto de Adriana premiered at the Berlinale, where it won the Peace Film Award. The film was also nominated for Best Picture at the Fénix and Platino Awards, received numerous international honors, and was screened at more than 100 festivals, academic institutions, and memory-focused forums. Orozco has collaborated on and advised multiple audiovisual projects addressing memory, LGBTQ+ issues, and other social topics. She has also worked as a curator, festival juror, and evaluator of public and private funding initiatives at both national and international levels.
Kumjana Novakova is a research-based moving-image artist born in Yugoslavia, working also as film curator and educator. Through her films and gallery work Kumjana researches relationships related to power, war, memories and resistance. Her work has been presented at numerous festivals and venues, including Tate Modern, MoMA, Museum of the Moving Image, IDFA, Cinema du Reel, Punto de Vista, HotDocs, MG+MSUM Ljubljana, etc. Currently Kumjana lives between Sarajevo and Skopje.
Leonard Cortana (he/him) is a curator, Ph.D. candidate at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, impact producer, and Inclusion Programs & Strategic Partnerships Manager at EURODOC. His research focuses on the transnational circulation of social justice narratives and memory films centered on the legacies of assassinated activists and transitional justice movements. He has also contributed to social impact campaigns for films such as Murder in Paris (South Africa) and Sementes: Black Women in Power (Brazil). Leonard has curated film programs in Colombia, Brazil, France, Mexico, Guadeloupe, and the United States. He designs and facilitates workshops on the ethical organization of post-screening Q&As, leading sessions on the topic at Cannes Docs in 2024 and the Sundance Collab Advisor Studio in 2026, and has also worked as a consultant with the Scottish Documentary Institute. Leonard is a recipient of the UN Fellowship for People of African Descent and has served as a consultant for the United Nations Human Rights Office in both Geneva and Peru. He was selected for Berlinale Talents 2026, delivered the opening keynote at DOK.forum Munich 2026, and regularly serves as a festival juror, speaker, and educator. In 2026, he also designed and facilitated the FIDOC Amazônia Lab in Belém, supporting documentary filmmakers from the Amazon region.
Not every documentary needs to justify its impact. But some films enter history at precisely the moment when courts, governments, and societies, despite the work of truth and reconciliation commissions, have failed or refused to reckon with the past. In many places, documentary has reached into the silences left by legal processes: into families, generational inheritance, the gap between what a country officially remembers and what its survivors know to be true, and the descendants of perpetrators would rather forget. This conversation brings together filmmakers whose work has become part of the transitional justice movements their films document, and even inspired global activist movements advocating for accountability. How much can cinema really help break pacts of silence, support legal campaigns, and work toward peace and reconciliation that persist long after a film's release?
Moderator: Leonard Cortana
Panelists: Lisette Orozco (Adriana's Pact, Colectivo de Historias Desobedientes), Almudena Carracedo (The Silence of Others), and Kumjana Novakova (Silence of Reason)
Biographies:
Almudena Carracedo is Peabody, duPont-Columbia, Goya and three-time Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on justice and memory. Her latest film, “You Are Not Alone”, tells the story of Spain’s #MeToo movement. Created with Robert Bahar, it was a global success on Netflix, won a duPont-Columbia Award, and was nominated for a Goya (Spain’s Academy Award) and a BAFTA (TV). Their previous film, “The Silence of Others”, which explores the legacy of Franco-era crimes in Spain, won a Goya, Peabody, two Emmys, Berlinale Panorama Audience Award, Sheffield Grand Jury Prize, and was shortlisted for an Oscar. Her debut feature, “Made in L.A.”, following the struggle of immigrant women workers, won an Emmy. For six years, she served on CIMA’s board (Spain’s women filmmakers association). She is a Guggenheim Fellow, US Artists Fellow, Creative Capital Fellow and a member of the European Film Academy, Spanish Film Academy and AMPAS.
Lissette Orozco is a film director and screenwriter. She holds a Master’s degree in Documentary Filmmaking and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Pompeu Fabra University. A human rights researcher and activist, she is a member of Historias Desobedientes (Descendants of Perpetrators for Memory, Truth, and Justice) and has taught at universities across Latin America. Her documentary El pacto de Adriana premiered at the Berlinale, where it won the Peace Film Award. The film was also nominated for Best Picture at the Fénix and Platino Awards, received numerous international honors, and was screened at more than 100 festivals, academic institutions, and memory-focused forums. Orozco has collaborated on and advised multiple audiovisual projects addressing memory, LGBTQ+ issues, and other social topics. She has also worked as a curator, festival juror, and evaluator of public and private funding initiatives at both national and international levels.
Kumjana Novakova is a research-based moving-image artist born in Yugoslavia, working also as film curator and educator. Through her films and gallery work Kumjana researches relationships related to power, war, memories and resistance. Her work has been presented at numerous festivals and venues, including Tate Modern, MoMA, Museum of the Moving Image, IDFA, Cinema du Reel, Punto de Vista, HotDocs, MG+MSUM Ljubljana, etc. Currently Kumjana lives between Sarajevo and Skopje.
Leonard Cortana (he/him) is a curator, Ph.D. candidate at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, impact producer, and Inclusion Programs & Strategic Partnerships Manager at EURODOC. His research focuses on the transnational circulation of social justice narratives and memory films centered on the legacies of assassinated activists and transitional justice movements. He has also contributed to social impact campaigns for films such as Murder in Paris (South Africa) and Sementes: Black Women in Power (Brazil). Leonard has curated film programs in Colombia, Brazil, France, Mexico, Guadeloupe, and the United States. He designs and facilitates workshops on the ethical organization of post-screening Q&As, leading sessions on the topic at Cannes Docs in 2024 and the Sundance Collab Advisor Studio in 2026, and has also worked as a consultant with the Scottish Documentary Institute. Leonard is a recipient of the UN Fellowship for People of African Descent and has served as a consultant for the United Nations Human Rights Office in both Geneva and Peru. He was selected for Berlinale Talents 2026, delivered the opening keynote at DOK.forum Munich 2026, and regularly serves as a festival juror, speaker, and educator. In 2026, he also designed and facilitated the FIDOC Amazônia Lab in Belém, supporting documentary filmmakers from the Amazon region.
